Guarantees to protect compensation and obtaining the same UAE LABOR LAW

The remuneration will include all the monetary and in-kind elements that the employer provides to the worker in exchange for the effort and time contributed by the worker. UAE Labor Law has provided guarantees to protect the worker’s salary and obtain it in full as stipulated by law as follows:

First: Protect compensation from deduction:

In accordance with article N ° (60) of the Labor Law, no amount of money may be deducted from the employee’s remuneration to recover rights, except in the following cases:

A. Reimbursement of advances or amounts of money paid to the employee in excess of his right, provided that the deduction in this case does not exceed 10% of the employee’s periodic pay.

B. Quotas payable by law by employees from their remuneration, such as social security and insurance plans.

C. Employee subscriptions to the savings fund or advances owed to pay the fund.

D. Fees with respect to any social plan or other privileges or services provided by the employer and approved by the Department of Labor.

E. Fines imposed on the employee for infractions committed by him / her

F. Any debt payable in execution of court judgment provided that no more than a quarter of the employee’s salary is deducted. In the case of numerous debts or creditors, a maximum of half of the remuneration may be deducted and the amounts of money seized will be distributed pro rata among the beneficiaries after payment of any legal alimony amounting to a quarter of the remuneration.

The last clause (F) reflects the protection granted to the worker against his creditors, who can request the seizure of the remuneration to comply with their rights, because the remuneration is the source of life of the worker and his family. The law has determined the seizure percentage for the sole creditor that the seizure percentage shall not exceed one quarter and in the case of a diversity of creditors, the seizure percentage shall not exceed half the remuneration. And if alimony is among these debts, then a quarter is allocated and the remaining quarter of the seized half is allocated to pay other creditors pro rata, that is, the employee fees are AED 8000 and half of this amount seized for the benefit of creditors, then a quarter (2000 AED) to pay alimony and the remaining 2000 AED paid to creditors pro rata.

To estimate the percentage of the employee’s compensation that can be deducted, first; The percentage must be calculated from the aforementioned deductions as established in subsection (A – C) of Article N ° (60) of the aforementioned Labor Law, and the rest will be deducted from the percentage mentioned in subsection (H) thereof. . Article- If the worker’s compensation is ten thousand Dirhams, and the total amount deducted from loans, subscriptions, fees and fines is AED 1,000, the amount deducted from it by the application of item (H) mentioned above is nine thousand Dirhams. .

Second: Estimate the deduction in case the employee causes damage, loss or destruction;

In accordance with article no. (61) of the Labor Law that establishes that “if the employee has caused the loss, damage or destruction of any tool, machine, equipment or product that is the property of the employer or is in his custody, to the extent that the employee’s involvement was due to his fault or violation of the employer’s instructions, then the employer has the option to cut from the employee’s pay the amount required to rectify the error or restore the item to its original condition, as long as the amount is deducted will not exceed five days of pay per month. The employer may request the competent court through the corresponding Department of Labor to authorize it to deduct more than this amount if the employee is financially sound or has another source of money. “

Third: The privileged right to obtain remuneration:

As established in article No. (4) of the Labor Law, it establishes that “Any amount payable to the worker or his beneficiaries by virtue of this Law shall have the right to a lien on all the movable and immovable property of the employer. And the payment of the They will be made immediately after the payment of legal expenses, sums owed to the public treasury and the Sharia alimony granted to the wife and children. “

In the aforementioned article, the legislator departed from the general rules established for the general privilege of rights that the text of article 1515 of the Civil Transactions Law enunciates in two matters to protect the right of the worker and ensure access to it:

The Labor Law grants the employee the right of privilege over all the money of the employer, regardless of the amount or period in which it is owed, while the general rules restrict the privilege to the extent that he is entitled to the rights of general privilege . in the last six months.

The labor law has preferred the privilege of the employee over the privilege established in the law for the amounts due given to the debtor and the dependents for food, clothing and medicine. Basically, the privilege rights are fulfilled by the percentage of each, while the labor law gives the worker the right to precede the privilege of the suppliers of food, clothing and medicine.

Fourth: Estimation of deductions in case of imposition of a fine

As established in article 104 of the Labor Law, “a fine may be a specified amount of money or an amount equal to the employee’s remuneration for a specified period of time. A fine for a single offense may not exceed the remuneration payable for five days. It is not allowed to deduct within a month an amount equivalent to more than five days of pay from the employee’s compensation to settle the fines that have been imposed “

Fifth: Demonstrate compensation eligibility

As established in article 58 of the aforementioned law; “The liquidation of the remuneration payable to the employees, whatever their amount or nature, will be accredited only in writing, by means of a declaration or oath. Any agreement to the contrary will be null and void even if it is made before the effective date of this Law ”.

It is considered a protection for the worker because the worker is the weaker party in the labor relationship, the legislator in this article has departed from the general rules of the test, where it requires the worker to prove his eligibility to his remuneration in writing or his alternative, declaration or oath or whatever the value of the remuneration, even if the value of the remuneration is less than five thousand Dirhams. However, the general rules for proof require the testimony of witnesses or evidence if the amount of the debt is less than five thousand Dirhams. Consequently, until the employer is released from the compensation debt, it must provide written proof or statement or oath of compliance to the worker.

“It is not allowed to claim the employee’s payment before an official receipt or acknowledgment of receipt, or to take an oath or refuse to do so, that is, the receipt issued by the business owner regarding the employee’s payment is not sufficient to demonstrate the full payment of fees.

Sixth: It is not allowed to force a worker to buy in a certain store or the employer’s products:

For the protection of the worker from the possibility of forcing him to receive his salary in kind instead of cash, and can go through the payment of cash and then require / force the worker to buy products from the employer or from its stores at controlled prices. by the employer, article 59 of the Labor Law establishes the following: “No worker shall be obliged to buy food or other basic products in specific stores or products manufactured by the employer”

If the employer can force the worker to buy in a certain place, he will impose the remuneration he wants and it may be less than the minimum wage. This will be achieved by giving the worker his compensation in cash and then the worker is obliged / obliged to buy in the employer’s store or his products at higher prices than in the other stores. By this method the employer will recover part of the remuneration paid to the worker.

In light of the foregoing, it reveals to us that the legislator has granted protection to the worker with respect to obtaining his remuneration, where the legislator has codified all the provisions to protect the rights of the worker to obtain his remuneration and prevent his remuneration to be deducted under any circumstances in a way that affects your life or your family, that demonstrates the human sense and social commitment contemplated by the UAE law, which never considered the employment relationship as a purely economic relationship.